The subject invention is an industrial operation having a monitoring system and method and more particularly the system and method remotely investigates and monitors industrial operations, such as chemical reactions or dispersion, or structural operations, such as conduit or pipe monitoring.
The increasing use of digital camera technology for taking and transmitting images, videos and visible information is having a major impact in industrial operations. In many industrial operations, direct human observation is not possible such as when an operation is being performed within a sealed container. Digital camera systems are highly suitable for observing and recording events within such sealed containers, such as within reactors where high, pressures and temperatures are often encountered, and can be sized to minimize their impact on the overall operation of a system. Further, such camera systems can be used for various applications including, but not limited to, recording events such as color changes, crystallization, precipitation, viscosity and other phase changes.
Various industrial operations, such as operations utilizing chemical reactions, hydrocarbon production operations, or dispersion operations, typically have one or more fluid streams that often combine or create reactions at locations having limited access but often require periodic monitoring. Accordingly, systems have been developed with sensors, such as digital cameras, that are permanently mounted at specific locations within a sealed or a limited access operation, such as an operation having one or more fluid conduits that are typically connected to a monitoring station using hard wire or wireless communication. Unfortunately, while such systems do provide the ability to monitor operations at a specific location, however sensors that fail are often expensive and difficult to reach at such locations for replacement or repair. Further, such cameras typically limited in their ability to monitor areas outside a specific defined area or a particular angle or observation direction.
Industrial operations have also been developed that utilize one or more fluid conduits, often having conduits (piping) of minimal size making it difficult to place fixed mounted cameras within the conduit. Further, such cameras often interfere with fluid streams flowing through the conduit. In many operations, the number and length of the fluid conduits are often extensive and over time blockages or damage can develop within the operation. Typically, the only indication available that a blockage or damage may have occurred or is in the process of developing is by a reduction in the flow rate of the fluid stream and/or an increase in hydrostatic head pressure. Often head pressure is the major pressure loss in an operation and when a blockage or restriction occurs it will initially have lithe effect on the flow rate within the operation since the hydraulic resistance is small relative to the much larger hydrostatic head. Thus, it may be difficult to determine if a blockage is beginning to form before it reaches the point of causing a significant reduction in fluid flow or an increase in head pressure. However, as the blockage grows, it will eventually become significant and will result in an undesirable restriction in the flow or even stop flow through the operation. Further, while the presence of blockage may be indicated, it is often difficult to determine the location of the blockage making it more difficult to repair. Therefore, it would be desirable to have an industrial operation having a system that can operate to detect impending system failure due to blockage or potential blockage of a fluid stream and allows corrective action to be implemented prior to a catastrophic event. It would also be desirable to be able to determine the extent of any damage that may have developed within a fluid conduit that could lead to a catastrophic event or before the damage expands resulting in shutdown of the industrial operation. Further, It would also be desirable to have an industrial operation having a system that can be used to observe and monitor areas within specific locations of the operation, such as where chemical reactions are occurring and where human observation is impossible or impractical and where fixed placement sensors (cameras) to not provide the necessary monitoring or where fixed cameras can cause disturbance or interfere with the fluid stream of the conduit.
Accordingly, it would be also desirable to have an industrial operation having a system that can be directed into a fluid stream to monitor conditions and reactions occurring at remote or limited access locations, that can be used to determine location of restrictions, blockages or potential blockages within a conduit, and which can be utilized to detect, identify and analyze damage or potential damage areas within an industrial operation having a fluid stream.